Key Highlights:
- Julie Davis has detailed her final contact with her son, former rugby player and The X Factor: Celebrity contestant Levi Davis, who vanished in Barcelona in October 2022.
- Spanish authorities concluded that Levi Davis likely drowned at sea after his passport was discovered near the city’s port, officially closing their initial inquiry.
- The family faces estimated legal costs of around £12,000 to retain a lawyer to push for further answers regarding how he ended up in the water.
The Disappearance of Levi Davis in Barcelona
The mother of missing British rugby player and musician Levi Davis has opened up about the final interaction she had with her son before he mysteriously vanished in Spain. Levi Davis, 24, had been spending time in Ibiza working on his music before boarding a ferry to Barcelona in late October 2022. During the journey across the Mediterranean, he reached out to his mother, Julie Davis, who is based in Birmingham.
Recalling their final video call from the boat, Julie Davis recounted his optimistic mood. Levi Davis sent a video, telling her: “Mum, look at the water, it’s beautiful out here. Wish you were here,”
she told Metro. Reflecting on his demeanour at the time, she noted that the former Bath Rugby player was ‘was quite happy, jolly and looking forward to life really and his travels’
. She expanded on his emotional state, explaining: “There wasn’t anything untoward. Yes, he had his issues, but he was at a place at that point in time where he was just looking forward to living the rest of his life,”
before adding, “I was quite happy for him because he’d been through quite a lot. It was the side of Levi that I had known since he’d been born. Happy and full of life.”
Final Sightings and Official Police Inquiries
Levi Davis was recorded on CCTV leaving The Old Irish Pub in Barcelona at roughly 11:00pm on 29 October 2022. In the early hours of the following morning, shortly after midnight on 30 October, he sent his last known communication—a WhatsApp voice note distributed to family and friends. A few weeks following his disappearance, his passport was retrieved near the port of Barcelona. Catalan law enforcement carried out an initial investigation before determining that the most plausible scenario was that he had drowned at sea.
Despite Spanish authorities closing the official case, Julie Davis and independent journalists have repeatedly pushed for deeper scrutiny into the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Four days before he went missing, Levi Davis had shared a distressing and now-deleted video across social media channels, alleging extortion, blackmail, drugging, and sexual abuse. In the footage, he pleaded: “Hello, my name is Levi Davis, and my life is in danger… I beg that you listen and try to understand what I’m telling you,”
Troubling Allegations and the Family’s Fight for Answers
In the video posted prior to his disappearance, Levi Davis detailed entering a relationship with an unnamed individual, during which he stated he was drugged and coerced into performing sexual acts on camera, leaving him in what he described as ‘compromising positions’
. He also claimed his reports to authorities had been compromised, stating: “The information that I gave to the police went directly back to these individuals,”
and alleging, “There is a large amount of police corruption and the only way that these people would’ve had access to my private interviews with the police is through it being leaked.”
To reopen inquiries or legally compel officials to investigate how Levi Davis ended up in the water, his family has been advised to secure independent legal representation in Spain—a move anticipated to cost roughly £12,000. Julie Davis expressed the intense emotional strain the prolonged search has placed on the family, telling Metro: “I can’t put into words [how frustrating that is]. My life is basically on hold. It’s affecting the whole family,”
She added: “It just feels like this can’t be real. I would never have imagined this happening to our family at all. Levi was on his way up and worked hard to get where he was. For this to happen is more than shocking. I feel like I’m watching a movie.”
Why This Matters
Levi Davis initially rose to public prominence after making his senior debut for Bath Rugby in 2017, later gaining wider recognition in 2019 when he competed on ITV’s The X Factor: Celebrity alongside fellow rugby players Ben Foden and Thom Evans as part of the group Try Star. The unresolved nature of his disappearance has left major questions unanswered for his family, particularly given the stark contrast between his hopeful final message to his mother and the serious safety concerns he raised publicly only days before. With the official Catalan police investigation closed under the theory of an accidental drowning, the family’s search for closure hinges entirely on private funding and independent legal intervention.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Levi Davis last seen?
Levi Davis was last seen on CCTV leaving The Old Irish Pub in Barcelona at approximately 11:00pm on 29 October 2022. His last contact was a voice note sent shortly after midnight on 30 October.
What conclusion did the Spanish police reach?
Catalan police concluded their initial investigation after Levi Davis’s passport was found near the Barcelona port, stating their most plausible theory was that he drowned at sea, leading to the closure of the official case.
What steps are the family currently facing to uncover more information?
To investigate how Levi Davis entered the water and challenge the case findings, the family has been advised that they need to hire a lawyer, which could cost approximately £12,000.
